


Love’s Legacy

by Mezo_Phane



Series: The Peace of Love [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Armitage Hux Lives, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Armitage Hux is Smooth, Armitage Hux is a Tease, F/M, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Rose Tico Deserved Better, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, armitage hux is soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mezo_Phane/pseuds/Mezo_Phane
Summary: Thanya Hux discovers an old poster, which leads to more than Armitage and Rose expect.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Original Child Character(s), Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rose Tico & Original Child Character(s)
Series: The Peace of Love [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2106060
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Love’s Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> Just… I’m glad I’m writing, I guess? Here, have more fic, and what I think is the last story in this series. But I said that last time, so…

It was completely to his surprise when Armitage Hux’s only child, sixteen-year-old Thanya Paige Hux sat at the dining table and said, “I can see why you married Dad, Mom,” all while grinning wickedly.

Armitage Hux, now fifty-four, practically spat out his soup.“What the devil are you talking about, Than?”

Thanya only smirked, and pulled out a small poster, unfurling it onto the table.

It was an old First Order propaganda recruitment poster, with the words “Lead By Example — Join the First Order!” along the top, and taking up the bulk of the poster, in full dress uniform, command cap, leather gloves, and wool greatcoat, was Armitage himself, imperious expression on his patrician features, twenty-two years younger.

“Where on earth did you get that?”Rose asked, coming along to the other side of the table to look more closely at the poster.

“Dad’s chest upstairs in the attic, I was looking through it, and I found this,” Thanya replied, referring to the chest recovered from the wreckage of the Steadfast on Exegol, which was a gift from Dameron on Armitage’s forty-second birthday that he kept at the back of the attic, containing his greatcoat, gloves, spare uniforms, command cap, and his assorted First Order odds and ends; old datapads, (some with designs that would never see the light of day, if he had anything to say about it) personal diaries, his old command cylinders, and the propaganda posters that Mitaka had made sure to give him copies of when they were first released.Unfortunately.

“It’s been a while since I saw one of these, Armie,” Rose grinned.

“When did you do this, and how old were you, Dad?” Thanya asked.

Armitage sighed with a tone that indicated that he would very much like to put his head in his hands, but was refraining from doing so to save face, “I did it when I was promoted from Colonel to General, and I was thirty-two.”

What do you mean by you know why I married your father, though, Thanya?”Rose inquired.

“Dad was _obviously_ a “bad boy”, and that’s your type, Mom.Don’t think I’ve forgotten the story you told me about you and General Finn.”

“Finn wasn’t a “bad boy”, Thanya, what do you mean?”

Another man might have felt jealous at the affection with which Rose still spoke the name of the Resistance General, now Chief of Staff of the New Republic Armed Forces, but Armitage had no doubts as to Rose’s love for him.It was a gift he counted himself lucky to have every day.

“Oh, come _on_ , Mom.Former First Order Stormtrooper turned leader of the Resistance?It’s not your stereotypical “bad boy”, but still, “bad boy” nevertheless. And Dad?” Thanya scoffed, “Dad was a _General_ in the upper echelons of the First Order, the scion of an _Imperial lineage_ , who turned spy for the Resistance. If that’s not a “bad boy”, I don’t know what is. I also remember the story behind the scar on Dad’s hand. On top of that, objectively speaking, Dad wasn’t exactly harsh on the eyes, Mom,” she said, that smirk still plastered on her face, gesturing to the poster.

He didn’t exactly know what it was they were seeing.He looked the same there as he did now, just with no wrinkles, no silver in his hair, and definitely no eyeglasses.

“What made you you look in that old chest, Thanya?”Armitage asked.Even though Thanya knew and accepted his past, it didn’t mean that he wanted her to see what he was in all its horrible glory. 

“Oh, I just wanted to see what was inside, Dad,” she said nonchalantly.Too nonchalantly, in fact.He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly and shared a look with Rose.The minute quirk of her lip said that she didn’t quite believe what their daughter was saying either.

The ever-so-slight gesture Rose made signaled that she’d ask Thanya about it later, leaving him to argue the contested opinion over his looks.

* * *

That evening, Rose called Thanya to help her with the dishes as Armitage made a discreet exit to the upstairs workroom, to allow them to talk openly.

Rose allowed the rhythm of the cleaning to set in before she asked the question.“What really made you look into your Dad’s chest, Thanya?”

“I told you I was just — ”

“Don’t try and lie to me, Thanya Paige Hux,” Rose replied sternly.

Thanya sighed, setting down the dish towel, before she turned and leaned against the counter.“I… want to enlist in the New Republic Armed Forces, Mom.”

Rose was shocked, and shut off the water before facing her daughter again.“Why?You’re so intelligent, and as good as me and your father, if not more so, when it comes to engineering.You could be anything.”

“I want to be out there, fighting for justice and right, Mom.”

“It’s dangerous, Thanya,” Rose frowned.

“It’s definitely not more dangerous than when you and Dad were in the war.The New Republic’s at peace now, Mom.”

“It won’t be like that forever.Don’t you remember that Old Coruscanti proverb your father used to say?“Si vis pacem, parabellum”.And how much thought have you put into this?”

I’ve thought about this for a long time, Mom.This isn’t some whim I thought about one, two days ago. I’ve thought about this for months.I know I can do it, Mom,” Thanya adamantly declared.

“I’m not saying that you _can’t_.Your father and I raised you to believe in yourself, and I know this is well within your reach, but… I’m _worried_.Your father and I worked to make sure that you would be able to live in peace.And now, if you do this, you’d be right in the heart of the next conflict.”

“Whose daughter am I, Mom?”

“What?”Rose asked, unsure of her meaning.

“I’m the daughter of Commander Rose Tico, engineering genius, war hero, and spymaster, who infiltrated the Supremacy, a Mega-class Star Dreadnought that was also the headquarters of the Supreme Leader of the First Order, who dared to bite the finger of a leading First Order officer; the daughter of General Armitage Hux, yet another engineering genius, who was overall commander of the First Order’s personnel, at one time answerable only to the Supreme Leader, who then became a spy for the Resistance and saved countless lives.Granted, Dad’s initial reasons for turning spy weren’t entirely altruistic, but in the end, he really changed.I’m your child, Mom.This is basically in my blood.”

“I… I can’t lose you, Thanya,” Rose murmured.

“You won’t, Mom.Again, your kid, remember?Between you and Dad?I’ve got all the smarts I need to stay alive.Please, Mom.Let me do this.”

Rose took several breaths.“If you’re sure you want to do this… okay.But promise me if you feel like you don’t want to do it anymore, that you’ll come straight home, okay?There’s no shame in that.And promise me… you’ll always come home,” she cried.

“I promise I’ll always try, Mom,” Thanya replied, also beginning to cry.

At that, mother and daughter flung their arms around each other, holding each other through their tears.

“You still didn’t answer the question, Thanya,” Rose asked, once the two of them had stopped crying.“Why’d you look through your Dad’s chest?”

“I didn’t just look through his, Mom,” she sheepishly mumbled.

When Rose heard the reason, she couldn’t help another round of tears as another tight hug.

As they began to make their way to their rooms, Rose halted Thanya.“Thanya.I want you to talk to your father tomorrow, okay?Tell him… tell him everything you told me, okay?”

She nodded.“Okay.Can… can you ask Dad if we can do it overlooking the hills?At sunrise?Like last time,” she replied, referring to the spot Armitage had taken her when he told her about his past.

“Alright.I’ll tell him.Goodnight, Thanya.Chị yêu em.”

“Con yêu mẹ, Mom.”

Rose arrived in her and Armitage’s room, finding him already in bed, asleep.She quietly prepared herself for bed, and got in under the covers, unable to stop herself from sniffling softly as she tried to fall asleep, hoping he wouldn’t hear her and wake up.However, she failed to keep quiet, hearing his breathing shift and feeling his awareness move to her. 

She didn’t say anything to acknowledge that she knew he was awake, knowing that he knew she’d talk when she felt like she could.Finally, she whispered into the moonsless stillness of the night, “Could you hold me, Armitage?”

She felt relief flood through her when he pulled her into his arms.She took shuddering breaths, but no tears fell. 

“What’s wrong, a rúnsearc?”He quietly said.

“It’s not my place to tell you.Thanya wants to talk to you tomorrow at sunrise overlooking the hills.”

“I — ”

“Please don’t ask any more questions, Armitage, please?Just hold me.”

Armitage only pulled her tighter against him in reply, wrapping himself around her as if he could shield her from all of life’s pains by sheer force of will alone.Rose could only feel grateful at the love and devotion he held for her.It was on days like this that she swore his love kept her heart beating.

* * *

Armitage’s still-regimented internal clock woke him just before sunrise, and as it was already beginning to turn cold on Tareth, he made sure to dress warmly, pulling a thick hunter-green knit cardigan on top of everything else.Taking a woolen blanket from the linen closet, he kissed a still-sleeping Rose gently on the forehead, and made his way to the overlook where he was meeting his daughter.

Coming to the crest of the hill, he could see his daughter already sitting there, bringing him back to two years ago when he told Thanya about his past.Quietly, he approached, and unfurling the blanket, he wrapped it around her shoulders.To her credit, Thanya didn’t jump, already used to her father’s silent steps.

Carefully, he lowered himself to the grassy ground, his joints aching a little more than the last time he had done this, stretching his legs out in front of him.“I know this spot has some meaning to us, but couldn’t you have picked a different one?I’m getting too old to sit on the ground,” he half-joked to release some of his tension.

To his concern, Thanya didn’t even crack a smile. 

“Than?Please talk to me.”

She took a deep breath, then said, “Dad… I want to join the New Republic Armed Forces.”

Armitage inhaled sharply.Fighting down the urge to stand up, (not that his joints could endure such dramatics very well) and shout “ _No_!” with all the emphatic force an erstwhile General could bring to bear, he forced himself to say calmly, “Why?Your intelligence is on a level with your mother’s and mine, if not on a higher level — you could do anything, with your mind,” he countered.

“Before you think it’s a whim, it’s _not_ , Dad.I’ve thought about this for a _long_ time, and I feel — no, I _know_ it’s what I’m meant to do.I want to fight for justice and right, I want to help people.I want to be a part of something bigger than myself, and I want to do _something_ with my life.”

“But why the military?”He insisted.“You could become a lawyer, an activist, even a… politician,” he continued, much as it pained him to even say the word “politician”.

“I hate bureaucracy,” she replied, in such a manner that if her accent had been a crisp Imperial one instead of the lazy Outer Rim drawl that she got from her mother, it would be almost as if he was looking into a mirror from decades past.

“You think there’s no bureaucracy in the military?Take it from me, it _abounds_ in any militarized structure,” he rebutted, recalling the many forms in **_quadruplicate_** that were required during his time in the First Order.

“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“Don’t think you can pull that with all your superiors,” he warned.

“Which is why I intend to _become_ the superior,” she said, echoing a sentiment that he himself once thought and said, but with a look of kind determination in her eyes that he recognized from Rose.

Armitage looked out to the hills, thinking.Thanya had his and Rose’s intelligence, and his mind, a nearly terrifying combination that was thankfully mastered by her mother’s good and kind heart.If there was anyone who could make it as a military officer, it was undoubtedly his daughter. 

“What made you look into my chest, Than?”He asked, wanting to know what her looking into that old thing had to do with her wanting to enlist. 

“I… didn’t just look into yours, Dad,” she said, suddenly sheepish.

He frowned.

“I looked into Mom’s too.”

“What for?”

“I wanted to see if I could do it,” she mumbled.

“Do what?”

“I wanted to see if I could be the kind of officers you were, if I was enough like the two of you.I wanted to know if I had it in me.I knew both of you had some diaries in there.”

Breathing deeply, he sternly said, “Thanya. You will _never_ be the kind of officer I was.”

Her face fell, and he continued, “You will be infinitely _better_ than I ever was, because you are a better person.You have the intelligence of your mother and myself, my mind, and your mother’s incomprehensibly kind heart.”

“You… you’ll let me go?”Her face was beginning to light up brighter than the sunrise in front of them.

“… Provided your mother has consented,” he sighed.

“Thank you, Dad!”She exclaimed, lurching forward to hug him, his reflexes still quick enough to catch her, and prevent the two of them from falling over.

“I take it from that response that she has?”He chuckled.

Thanya nodded excitedly.

“Alright, I have some advice for you, I want you to listen carefully to me, are you listening?”He asked, taking her by the shoulders.

“Okay, Dad.”

“Don’t let them waste your talents, you have a brilliant mind, let them know what they have in you.You can still lead while putting your skills to work.I did the same… though don’t imitate my example in what I created,” he remarked, referring to Starkiller.“You, Thanya Paige Hux, will be a credit to the New Republic Armed Forces, and you will make the Hux name something to be admired, mo leanbh.Is aoibhinn liom tú, Thanya.”

She smiled up at him, “Is aoibhinn liom tú, Dadaí.”

“Come now, your mother will have prepared breakfast already, and afterwards, I’ll help you fill out your enlistment form.Dameron still owes me from when I fixed his X-Wing even though I had other projects, all those years ago, it’s time I call in that favor to make sure your form goes through and is not rejected by dint of your last name.If you really want to do this, by God, I’ll make sure you get to do this,” he said running a hand up and down her arm.

Thanya laughed brightly and leapt up, extending a hand to her father which he gratefully took, getting to his feet.There was a peaceful quiet over the two of them as they trekked home, before Armitage felt her mood turn playful. 

“You know, Dad?There was a pretty interesting entry in one of Mom’s old diaries.”

“Oh, really?”

“Apparently, even though you were the one who ended up with a scar on the Supremacy, you weren’t the only one who was marked by that day.There was quite a detailed entry in Mom’s diary about that incident.And a _very_ interesting sketch accompanied it.You should ask Mom about it.” she smiled.

* * *

It had been an emotional day in the Tico-Hux household, but now the peace of the night laid once more upon the planet.Rose and Armitage had bid a loving goodnight to their daughter, and were now getting ready for bed. 

Remembering what Thanya had told him, he remarked, “You know, Thanya told me she also looked into your chests.Something about wanting to see whether she was enough like us to be an officer.”

Already, he could see the slight tension in Rose’s form, even with her back facing him.

“She told me,” Rose replied, trying to force a nonchalant tone in her voice, as she lifted the covers and got into bed.Honestly.He knew where Thanya got it from.

He kept quiet for a while, lulling Rose into a false sense of security, and just when the tension had drained from her, he struck.“She mentioned seeing a very detailed accounting of the day I got this,” he said, holding up his hand, “and said there was a very interesting sketch that accompanied said entry.”Leaning forward into her space, he asked, slipping into his Arkanisian accent, “What would you know about _that_ , a chuisle mo chroí?”

Rose glared at him, “You’re devious, you know?You know what it does to me when you do that.”

“Precisely,” he grinned.

She exhaled breathily, then blinked several times.“It’s a sketch of you, alright?It’s not even that good.”

His grin turned smug, and Rose swatted him on the shoulder, “Oh, _stop it_.I shouldn’t have told you, but you and that _stupid_ Arkanisian accent of yours — and using Arkanish — that’s a low blow, Armie.”

“Oh, you like it,” he defended.

“Pfft.”

“I want to see it.”

“ _No_ ,” she adamantly said.

“Come on, my love, I want to see the work of your hands.See how large you made my nose out of spite.”

“Hey, I might have hated your guts at the time, but I wouldn’t do that.”There was a sheepish pause, then, “Even back then, I had to admit you weren’t hard on the eyes.”

He sighed, “Honestly, I don’t know what it is you and Than see.I’m still the same as I ever was, thin as a rod, riddled with scars, and pale as a ghost, just with more wrinkles, silver in my hair, and eyeglasses.”

Rose frowned, and said, “You’re a handsome man, Armie, you always have been.You say you’re too thin and pale?I don’t see that.I see a strong man who was able to spy for the Resistance and evade capture even when he was being watched like a hawk, a strong man whose arms held me secure when I was terrified out of my mind from my nightmares, whose arms lovingly carried our daughter.You say you have scars?Who doesn’t?They mean that you’re a survivor.And that you should be careful when you piss off your wife.” 

He couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped, but Rose continued, “I see your brilliant mind.You have created bad things, yes, but you’ve also created so many good things, your design for the new Nike-class starfighters, among others.Your improvements to the shielding and onboard hyperdrive will save so many lives.And your wrinkles, the silver in your hair and your eyeglasses, they just make you look… august.Me on the other hand, I just look old,” she muttered.

“No, hardly, my dear.”He took her hand and cupped her cheek with the other, saying, “You are still as beautiful, brilliant, and strong as the day I met you, and you will always be that for me, even when I’m decrepit.I love you, Rose.”He raised her hand, brushing his lips over the pulse point on her wrist.

He heard her breath catch, making him smile to know that even now, after almost twenty years, they still had the same effect on each other, as he unceremoniously tossed his glasses onto his nightstand and drew her to him in an impassioned kiss.

Later, when they had caught their breath, he said, “I want to frame it.”

He could practically hear her eye roll.“You’re still on that lousy sketch of mine?” 

“Why not?”

Rose sighed, “Only if I get to frame your poster.”

“Rose!”

“See?”

* * *

_** Fifteen Years Later ** _

“…I cannot imagine a better officer or a better person, and I am so pleased to see Thanya Hux receive this promotion,” New Republic Military Academy Commandant Zay Versio proudly said into the microphone.

Armitage was somewhat nervously sitting next to Rose and his mother (who was still going strong at eighty-seven) on Chandrila, dressed in the most un-First Order-ly and innocuous clothes he had in his closet; a blue cardigan, white shirt, khaki trousers, and brown boots, while Rose was in a simple cream-colored dress, her New Republic commendation medals pinned to her chest, his mother wearing her best green dress.

For fourteen years, Armitage had demurred from going to Thanya’s previous promotion ceremonies, the agreement tying him to Tareth until his dying day a perfectly good excuse, leaving Rose and his mother to go to them without him.He wished he could have attended each and every one, but he was used to the four of them having a celebration together on Tareth a couple of days later.

Now, however, Thanya would not budge from wanting her whole family at this ceremony.Particularly this one.She refused to leave her father on Tareth this time, going all the way up to President ( _yes_ , _President_ , _what_ was the galaxy coming to,) Dameron, asking him for a furlough so that her father could be there for her promotion ceremony.

And to his (not total, given she was one of the most highly esteemed officers in the New Republic Armed Forces — despite her last name — well known for her leadership skills, engineering prowess, and inventions, her patents nearly as many as his) surprise, he was given said furlough, accompanied by a statement signed by the President himself, that he, Armitage Hux, was to be given safe conduct to Chandrila and back.

So, here he was, in the courtyard of the New Republic Military Academy, watching his daughter receive her promotion to General.He couldn’t have been prouder.His beloved daughter, a General.And she achieved her rank a year before he had, at thirty-one to his thirty-two.He could hear Rose sniffle proudly as Dameron pinned the additional rank bar to Thanya’s shoulder boards, while his mother dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.He wasn’t much better inside, but he kept a stoic face, though it took all of his strength.

After she and Dameron saluted each other and shook hands, Commandant Versio again approached the microphone, saying, “Now, General Hux has requested to once again fulfill an ancient military tradition.”

Armitage watched as Thanya decended from the dais, and soon approached the chairs where he, Rose and his mother were sitting.He had inkling as to what the tradition was: the First Salute.Thanya had already done this with Rose years ago when she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant — he remembered it from the holofilm his mother had taken that day.It was a tradition from days long gone, in which a newly commissioned officer received his first salute from someone who is or had been in the armed forces that influenced them greatly.It touched him that she was going to give Rose the honor of her First Salute again as a General.

Thanya approached, smartly snapping to attention.Rising from her seat, with admirable precision, Rose crisply saluted Thanya.Thanya returned the salute as she was supposed to, but strangely, did not drop it.He remembered that according to the tradition, Thanya was supposed to drop the salute first.It puzzled him as to why she was still holding it, when he saw Thanya’s gaze cut to him.

Oh.No. _No_ , _no_ , _no_.What… what was she trying to do?He was no member of the New Republic Armed Forces, much less a former member of the Resistance.Yes, he had been a spy for them, but it didn’t change the fact that he was a former member — a _General_ — of the First Order.

He shook his head discreetly, but Thanya just as discreetly nodded.He looked around, feeling cast adrift.As he foundered, his eyes met Dameron’s from where he was still sitting on the dais, and Dameron, to his shock, gave him a cheeky smirk, and a small nod.Armitage’s lips parted, they couldn’t mean to allow him to do this — he was broken from his thoughts by Rose kicking him in the shin.Looking up, he saw that she had turned her head slightly, the look in her eyes telling him to get up now.He stared at Rose, frozen, when her eyes softened, and she nodded encouragingly at him.He looked to Thanya again, wanting to be absolutely sure she wanted this.Again, she nodded, her brown eyes glassy.

Taking a deep breath, he collected himself.Standing from his seat, and tugging down his  sweater with the same dignity as if it were his old black dress uniform jacket, he pulled himself to his full height, drew his heels together, and stood at attention, before saluting his daughter with more respect, pride, and honor in his heart than he ever had while in this posture.

Fighting the tears and the beaming smile that were threatening to break over her face, Thanya finally dropped the salute, and she went to hug all of them, including her grandmother.Knowing it was not the time for displays of emotion, he merely held Thanya to him for several seconds longer than Rose and his mother did, hoping the emotion he felt would show in his embrace.Pulling back, she dignifiedly strode to the center of the courtyard, where the assorted officers, Academy faculty, and the cadets of the Academy were seated.

As Thanya stood there at parade rest, the officers and cadets stood as one, saluting the newly-made General Thanya Hux. At another crisp salute sent off from Thanya, Armitage could clearly see the respect the people in the courtyard held for his daughter.

Once more in their seats, Armitage Hux held his wife to him, kissing the top of her still sable-dark head, immeasurably and inconceivably proud of his daughter.How foolish he was as a younger man, that he thought all the death and destruction he dealt was a suitable legacy to leave the galaxy.This, seeing his child, Thanya Paige Hux, General of the New Republic Armed Forces, surpass him, was a far better legacy to leave than he had ever imagined.

**Author's Note:**

> Haysian (Vietnamese) Glossary
> 
> Chị yêu em: “I love you” from a parent to a child.
> 
> Con yêu mẹ: “I love you” from a child to a parent.
> 
> Arkanish (Irish) Glossary
> 
> A Rúnsearc: (pronounced uh ROON-shark) [literally “secret love”, this is a very passionate way of saying “beloved”.]
> 
> Mo Leanbh: (pronounced muh LAN-uv) [literally means “my child.” Affectionate term of endearment.]
> 
> Is aoibhinn liom tú: (pronounced iss even lum too) [literally translates to “you delight me”, but is an affectionate way of saying “I love you”.]
> 
> Dadaí: Daddy (pronounced DAH-dee)
> 
> A chuisle mo chroí: (pronounced uh coo-shil muh khree) [literally translates to “the pulse of my heart” or “my pulse”.]
> 
> I used google translate and various websites to glean my information — Vietnamese and Irish speaking people, please, please do not hesitate to correct me if anything is wrong here!
> 
> The sketch I mention is actually in the SW novel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Rose Tico, Resistance Fighter by Jason Fry, and the First Salute is an actual military tradition, though I did slightly modify it for my purposes!
> 
> Please read & review!


End file.
